How to Find the Right Job Search Site for You

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Nov. 18, 2011, 4:00 PM

By Mona Abdel-HalimThere are so many job search sites for you to choose from that it can be hard to narrow down the site that would be the best fit. While there are sites that may seem more difficult to use than others, job seekers shouldn't limit their search to just one site.

There are many job search websites out there, but it is up to you to find the ones you like.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the websites you will use in your job search. Most importantly, you must consider the website's employer audience. Then, you need to ask yourself if companies that interest you are accessing that site. If not, you need to do more digging.

Before you start, you need to know what you want to search for. Some websites will let you perform a general search, while others will provide more specifics on companies and career paths. Here are some of the top websites for you to start your job search:

Monster.com Monster.com is the most well known job board. It allows you to search from their database of thousands of jobs and provides you with career tools and advice.

CareerBuilder.com Career Builder is the largest job board on the Internet. Like Monster, you can search posted jobs by position title, keywords and location. CareerBuilder also provides other features that provide career advice, such as a popular industry blog.

Indeed.com Indeed is unique because it takes listings from sites all over the Internet and aggregates them on their website, including other major job search sites and company websites.

SimplyHired.com Simply Hired is setup as an easy to use job board to search a multitude of jobs.

LinkedIn.com As a job seeker, you probably already have a LinkedIn account. While LinkedIn is awesome as a networking tool, users can also access job listings in its Jobs link.

Craigslist.org If you're geographically focused in your job search, Craigslist can be a great resource for finding out about jobs at smaller companies. Since Craigslist is free for employers to post, it's often one of the first places where smaller organizations post their openings. Make sure to look on the individual Craigslist sites for every city you're considering since Craigslist only allows employers to post to a single city.

There's also several niche job search sites for specific industries and functional roles — from listing for only startups to openings exclusively for designers. These niche job search sites are especially good about listing openings that often don't make it on to larger sites, which charge employers a lot of money to post a job. Do a Google search for "[Industry or functional role] job board" to find out one that's right for you.

What are some other job search websites that have helped you? Leave us a note in the comments.

Mona Abdel-Halim is the co-founder of Resunate.com, the world's only search engine optimizing resume builder. You can find Mona and Resunate on Facebook and Twitter.